Hebrews 12

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and w sin which clings so closely, and x let us run y with endurance the race that is z set before us,2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, a who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising b the shame, and c is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

3d Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or e fainthearted.4In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

5And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? f "My son, g do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,nor be weary when reproved by him.6For h the Lord disciplines the one he loves,and chastises every son whom he receives."

7It is for discipline that you have to endure. i God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?8If you are left without discipline, j in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.9Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to k the Father of spirits l and live?10For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, m that we may share his holiness.11n For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields o the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

12Therefore p lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,13and q make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint r but rather be healed.14s Strive for peace with everyone, and for the t holiness u without which no one will see the Lord.15See to it that no one v fails to obtain the grace of God; that no w "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;16that no one is x sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.17For you know that y afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

18For you have not come to z what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest19and a the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words b made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.20For they could not endure the order that was given, c "If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned."21Indeed, d so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I tremble with fear."22But you have come to e Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, f the heavenly Jerusalem, and to g innumerable angels in festal gathering,23and to h the assembly 1 of the firstborn who are i enrolled in heaven, and to j God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,24and to Jesus, k the mediator of a new covenant, and to l the sprinkled blood m that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

25See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For n if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.26At that time o his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, p "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."27This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates q the removal of things that are shaken - that is, things that have been made - in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.28Therefore let us be grateful for receiving r a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus s let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,29for our t God is a consuming fire.

Cross ReferencesEphesians 4:22
To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires.

Cross References1 Corinthians 9:24
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.

Cross ReferencesHebrews 10:36
For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

Cross ReferencesHebrews 6:18
So that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

Cross ReferencesLuke 24:26
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?
Philippians 2:8
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Isaiah 53:11
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

Cross ReferencesPsalms 22:6 - 7
But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
Psalms 69:19
You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you.
Isaiah 53:3
He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Cross ReferencesHebrews 1:3
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Cross ReferencesMatthew 10:24
A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
Revelation 2:3
I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary.

Cross ReferencesGalatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Cross ReferencesProverbs 3:11 - 12
My son, do not despise the Lord 's discipline or be weary of his reproof.

Cross ReferencesJob 5:17
Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.

Cross ReferencesProverbs 3:11 - 12
My son, do not despise the Lord 's discipline or be weary of his reproof.

Cross ReferencesPsalms 94:12
Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law.
Psalms 119:67
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.
Psalms 119:75
I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
Revelation 3:19
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.

Cross ReferencesDeuteronomy 8:5
Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.
2 Samuel 7:14
I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men.
Proverbs 13:24
Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.
Proverbs 19:18
Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death.
Proverbs 23:13
Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

Cross References1 Peter 5:9
Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

Cross ReferencesNumbers 16:22
And they fell on their faces and said, "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?

Cross ReferencesIsaiah 38:16
O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these is the life of my spirit. Oh restore me to health and make me live!

Cross References2 Peter 1:4
By which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
Leviticus 11:44
For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.

Cross References1 Peter 1:6
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.

Cross ReferencesJames 3:17 - 18
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

Cross ReferencesIsaiah 35:3
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.
Job 4:3 - 4
Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands.

Cross ReferencesProverbs 4:26 - 27
Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.

Cross ReferencesJames 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
Galatians 6:1
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Cross ReferencesRomans 14:19
So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

Cross ReferencesMatthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
2 Corinthians 7:1
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
Ephesians 5:5
For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous ( that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Revelation 21:27
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Revelation 22:4
They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

Cross ReferencesHebrews 4:1
Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.
2 Corinthians 6:1
Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
Galatians 5:4
You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.

Cross ReferencesDeuteronomy 29:18
Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit.

Cross ReferencesHebrews 13:4
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
Genesis 25:33
Jacob said, "Swear to me now." So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.

Cross ReferencesGenesis 27:34
As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father!
Genesis 27:36
Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing." Then he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?
Genesis 27:38
Esau said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

Cross ReferencesExodus 19:18
Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
Exodus 20:18
Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off
Deuteronomy 4:11
And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom.
Deuteronomy 5:22
These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
2 Corinthians 3:9
For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory.

Cross ReferencesExodus 19:16
On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
Exodus 19:19
And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.

Cross ReferencesExodus 20:19
And said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.
Deuteronomy 5:5
While I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:
Deuteronomy 18:16
Just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, 'Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.

Cross ReferencesExodus 19:12 - 13
And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, 'Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.

Cross ReferencesExodus 19:12 - 13
And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, 'Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.

Cross ReferencesExodus 19:16
On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
Deuteronomy 9:19
For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure that the Lord bore against you, so that he was ready to destroy you. But the Lord listened to me that time also.

Cross ReferencesRevelation 14:1
Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.

Cross ReferencesGalatians 4:26
But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

Cross ReferencesJude 1:14
It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones.

Cross ReferencesLuke 10:20
Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

Cross ReferencesGenesis 18:25
Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?

Cross ReferencesHebrews 8:6
But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
Hebrews 9:15
Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

Cross ReferencesHebrews 10:22
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Cross ReferencesHebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.
Genesis 4:10
And the Lord said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.

Cross ReferencesHebrews 2:3
How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard.

Cross ReferencesExodus 19:18
Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.

Cross ReferencesHaggai 2:6
For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.
Haggai 2:21
Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth.

Cross ReferencesHaggai 2:6
For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.

Cross ReferencesPsalms 102:26
They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away.

Cross ReferencesDaniel 2:44
And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever.

Cross ReferencesHebrews 13:15
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

Cross ReferencesDeuteronomy 4:24
For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
2 Thessalonians 1:8
In flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Notes

Hebrews 12:1 - 29

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
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